Anchorage Couple Sentenced for Drug Dealing
| U.S. Attorney’s Office December 13, 2011 |
ANCHORAGE—Acting United States Attorney Kevin R. Feldis announced that an Anchorage man and woman were sentenced in federal court in Anchorage for their convictions of drug trafficking crimes.
Sarah Johnson, 35, and Willie Johnson, 40, residents of Anchorage, Alaska, were sentenced by Senior United States District Judge H. Russel Holland.
Sarah Johnson was sentenced to 45 months in prison for her convictions of possession of controlled substances with intent to distribute. Willie Johnson was sentenced to 60 months in prison for his conviction of conspiracy in relation to controlled substance trafficking.
According to Special Assistant United States Attorney Erin White, who prosecuted the case, the Johnsons kept a substantial amount of crack cocaine and powder cocaine in their residence, in which their minor children also lived. In addition to the actual controlled substances, the Johnsons also kept digital scales used to weigh controlled substances and over $2,500 in cash. The total amount of controlled substances seized during the course of this investigation totaled 74.7 grams of crack cocaine and 52.9 grams of powder cocaine. Scales used to weigh these substances were found in the garage and in the kitchen of the Johnson residence.
In fashioning a sentence, Judge Holland noted the serious nature of the Johnsons’ crimes, especially in light of the fact that the Johnsons conducted their drug trafficking activities in a home shared with their minor children. Both Sarah and Willie Johnson have prior convictions from the State of Alaska for drug dealing offenses, in addition to other criminal convictions. In 1991, Willie Johnson was convicted of armed bank robbery in this federal court and received a sentence of 77 months in prison.
Mr. Feldis commended the FBI Safe Streets Task Force and the Anchorage Police Department for the investigation leading to the successful prosecution of the Johnsons. Ms. White is a prosecutor in the U.S. Attorney’s Office who is funded by the Municipality of Anchorage for the purpose of prosecuting gang-related and violent crime cases.